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Cheektowaga Police warn of postal identity theft scam

Cheektowaga Police are warning the public of a scam that has recently surfaced in Western New York.

Police say in the last two months, they have seen three cases of the identity theft scam and, working with the U.S. Post Office, they learned the scam has been common in the south, especially Florida.

This is how it works: The identity thief files a change of mailing address at the post office for a victim. The thief can then open credit cards or loans in the victim’s name and have bills sent to the bogus address. Months could go by before a victim learns about it.

Police are advising residents to be suspicious if they're not receiving mail in a normal manner, and to immediately contact the major credit reporting bureaus and initiate a fraud alert if they fall victi

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